ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's electoral commission on Saturday warned they will penalize candidates and political parties who start campaigning early for November's legislative elections.
The official campaign period begins a month prior to voting day, November 11.
"The commission has formed a central committee and subcommittees in all provinces to monitor campaigning violations," Hassan Hadi Zayer, a media member of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), told state media.
"The most prominent violation observed is the early start of campaigning, which exposes violators to penalties and fines,” he added.
A total of 38 political parties and 31 coalitions have registered to run in Iraq’s parliamentary elections.
The IHEC has already disqualified 788 candidates because of criminal records or links to the banned Ba’ath Party that ruled Iraq from 1968 until 2003, when the US-led invasion ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.
The Accountability and Justice Act, enacted in 2008, dismantled the Ba’ath Party and sought to cleanse it "intellectually, administratively, politically, culturally, and economically" from Iraqi society and institutions.
According to the Iraqi constitution, each parliamentary seat represents approximately 100,000 votes, although the actual value per seat may vary depending on voter turnout.
Based on the final results of the 2024 General Population and Housing Census, Iraq’s total population - including the Kurdistan Region - stands at 46.1 million. Of that number, roughly 27 million are eligible voters. However, only those with biometric voting cards will be allowed to cast their ballots.
